Welcome Archbishop Hebda

Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s parents, Bernard and the late Helen Hebda, were married for seven years before he was born on Sept. 3, 1959, in Pittsburgh. Both having come from devout Catholic families — Polish and Irish, respectively — the couple was excited to have a family of their own, Archbishop Hebda said.

Over the course of the past 11 months, I’ve come to believe that God the Father is calling us as a Church to let go of everything other than Jesus. The circumstances in which we find ourselves have left us humbled and exposed, and at times the object of public scorn and reproach. The bonds of communion that have long been the strength of this local Church have been tested and challenged as we come to grips with our past and strive to make plans for the future.

Now that Pope Francis has named Archbishop Bernard Hebda to lead the archdiocese, The Catholic Spirit asked Bishop Cozzens what this welcomed change means for him and what Catholics might expect going forward.

Even if they had not previously met him, Catholics attending Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s May 13 installation Mass at the Cathedral of St. Paul in St. Paul used some of the same words to describe their new prelate: warm, personable, joyful and a good listener.

In his homily, Archbishop Hebda said the Gospel from Luke, which included Mary’s visit to her cousin, Elizabeth, and Mary’s Magnificat canticle — and the feast of Our Lady of Fatima both point to “God’s extravagant love for the lowly and for the little ones.” That same love, he said, “surprises, sustains and challenges us.”

For Michael Larson, a junior at Totino-Grace High School in Fridley, the installation was his second celebration with the archbishop in a week, since he was just confirmed on Monday. Besides the episcopal encounter and the liturgy, he enjoyed meeting other high school students of the local Church.

A bishop’s coat of arms traditionally has four parts: a shield with “charges,” or symbols, signifying his family, home or religious devotions; a processional cross representing his rank as bishop; a green pilgrim’s hat; and a scroll with his motto.

All bishops and archbishops in the United States are members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the assembly that works on behalf of Catholics throughout the country to promote the greater good.

Citing social justice efforts such as the new Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul, which has drawn the support of people of different religious traditions, the archbishop emphasized the importance of collaboration and being shrewd with resources while focusing on human needs. “If our work is to succeed, our work has to be God’s work,” he said.

Young Father Bernard Hebda wasn’t too excited about leaving a university chaplaincy to work in Rome, but, nonetheless, he quickly found great satisfaction in the canon law responsibilities that moved him overseas in 1996 — and not just because he loves a morning espresso or pasta for dinner.